Sidewalk-nail



J. W. DICKINSON. slDEwALK NAIL.

- N0.46'4,961, PatentedDe0.15,1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JAMES V. DICKINSON, OF MILXVAUKEE, XVISCONSIN.

SlDEWALK-NAIL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 464,961, dated December15, 1891..

Application filed July 9, 1891. Serial No. 398,899. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES W. DICKINSON, of Milwaukee, in the county ofMilwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented anew and usefulImprovement in Sidewalk-Nails, of which the following is adescription,reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which area part of this specification.

It is common to construct sidewalks of plank, which are cut of suitablelength and are laid upon and transversely of stringers placed in andparallel with the line of the walk, the plank being secured to thestringers by nails or spikes driven through them into the stringers orbed-pieces. This method of securing the planks on the bed-pieces isobjectionable, because the top surface of the planks soon wears awayunder the continual use of the sidewalk, and the heads of the nails thenprotrude upwardly therefrom in a manner very inconvenient andunsatisfactory to pedestrians.

The object of my invention is to provide means for securing the plank ofa sidewalk to the supportingstringers or bed-pieces in a moresatisfactory manner and by the use of a device that will not projectabove the surface of the plank when it is slightly worn; and myinvention consists in a nail of peculiar construction adapted for thispurpose.

In the drawings, Figure l'is alongitudinal vertical section of afragment of astringer or bed-piece of a sidewalk and a correspondingvertical section of fragments of two adjoining planks with which mydevice is shown in the relation thereto which it has when in use. Fig. 2is a perspective view of my improved nail.

A is the stringer or bed-piece, on which the planks B B of the sidewalkare laid.

My improved device consists of a piece of steel wire so bent as to forma main shank O, a'loop D at the top of the shank O, and a lesser shankor arm E in connection with a nail F, constructed of wire in the formnow in common use. The shank 0, arm E, and the common nail F are allsharpened or pointed at their extremities, whereby they are adapted tobe driven into wood. The common nail F is provided with a head F at itsother extremity. The loop D is of such size as to permit the shank ofthe nail F to pass movably therethrough, but not large enough to permitthe passage of the head F, which, when the common nail is driven to itsseat in the wood, bears against the walls of the loop.

The plank of a sidewalk are laid and secured in place by mysidewalk-nail as follows: The shank (J is driven into the stringer orbed-piece A in such manner that the arm E extends above the stringer andparallel thereto at a distance therefrom, and the common nail F beingremoved from or being out of the sidewalk-nail the plank B is laid onthe stringers and its edge is placed against the shank C on that side ofit opposite the arm E. The common nail F is then inserted. in the loop Dand driven into the edge of the plank into the position shown in Fig. 1.It will be noticed that the bend of the wire to form this loop is suchas to bring said loop in a plane at right angles to the plane of arm E,so that when nail F is inserted therethrough it will run in the samedirection as arm E. The plank B is then laid on the stringers in frontof the arm E, and the plank is driven or forced laterally toward theshank C, whereby the arm E is driven into the'edge of the plank to theposition and in the manner shown in Fig. 1. The two planks are forced ordriven firmly together, so as to countersink or embed the shank G andthe loop 1) in the abutting edges of the planks. Thereupon in continuingthe laying of planks these sidewalk-nails, with the common nail Fremoved therefrom, aredriven into the stringers close alongside theouter edge of the lastlaid plank. The common nail is then driven intothe plank through the loop, and another plank is laid in front of thearms E and forced up against the shanks 0, driving the arms E into thenewly-laid plank. In a sidewalk thus laid the nails are so inserted andembedded in the wood as to be entirely inclosed and protected therebyfrom water, snow, and ice, whereby the liability of the nails to rust orcorrode is reduced to a minimum and no aperture is formed in the topsurface of the planks through which water can enter, so that the decayof the planks around nailholes usually in sidewalks laid with nails inthe common form is obviated.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

'pieee of metal or wire'having a shank, an

arm at right angles thereto, and a loop at the junction of the shankwith the arm, said loop being on a plane at right angles to the latter,substantially asset forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

JAHES W. DICKINSON. Witnesses:

O. T. BENEDICT, ANNA V. FAUST.

